DRD4-7R, the 7-repeat (7R) variant of DRD4, has been linked to a susceptibility for developing ADHD in several meta-analyses and other psychological traits and disorders.[13][14]

The frequency of the alleles varies greatly between populations, e.g., the 7-repeat version has high incidence in America and low in Asia.[15] "Long" versions of polymorphisms are the alleles with 6 to 10 repeats. 7R appears to react less strongly to dopamine molecules.[16]

The 48-base pair VNTR has been the subject of much speculation about its evolution and role in human behaviors cross-culturally. The 7R allele appears to have been selected for about 40,000 years ago.[15] In 1999 Chen and colleagues[17] observed that populations who migrated farther in the past 30,000 to 1,000 years ago had a higher frequency of 7R/long alleles. They also showed that nomadic populations had higher frequencies of 7R alleles than sedentary ones. More recently it was observed that the health status of nomadic Ariaal men was higher if they had 7R alleles. However, in recently sedentary (non-nomadic) Ariaal those with 7R alleles seemed to have slightly deteriorated health.[18]

Despite early findings of an association between the DRD4 48bp VNTR and novelty seeking (a characteristic of exploratory and excitable people),[19][20] a 2008 meta-analysis compared 36 published studies of novelty seeking and the polymorphism and found no effect. The meta-analysis of 11 studies did find that another polymorphism in the gene, the -521C/T, showed an association with novelty seeking.[21] In any case, novelty-seeking behavior is probably mediated by several genes, and the variance attributable to DRD4 by itself is not particularly large.

Several studies have suggested that parenting may affect the cognitive development of children with the 7-repeat allele of DRD4.[22] Parenting that has maternal sensitivity, mindfulness, and autonomy–support at 15 months was found to alter children's executive functions at 18 to 20 months.[22] Children with poorer quality parenting were more impulsive and sensation seeking than those with higher quality parenting.[22] Higher quality parenting was associated with better effortful control in 4-year-olds.[22]